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We've seen unique episodes of RAW and SmackDown before, but nothing quite like this. Triple H, who has no match at WrestleMania 36, felt like the savior of the show as he helped carry it throughout.
As you probably know, SmackDown was held inside the WWE Performance Center behind closed doors - exactly as RAW will be this coming Monday. The reason for this, of course, is the outbreak and threat of the pandemic coronavirus.
But WWE did a great job in making us forget all of that, even if it was just momentary. While we were skeptical about the idea of a wrestling show behind closed doors, WWE did a decent job in maintaining interest and furthering a few storylines for the grandest stage of them all - WrestleMania 36.
The big drawback was the fact that nearly half the show went in a replay of the Tag Team title Elimination Chamber match this past week. Either way, we'll give credit where it's due and even with no crowd reaction, WWE subtly told us a few things:
#7. Triple H's subtle reveal
Triple H was undoubtedly the busiest man on the night. Not only did he take up a role on commentary alongside Michael Cole, but he was essentially the presenter as well. Given the circumstances, it appeared as though the rules on commentary were far more lenient than usual.
As a result, Triple H made a hint, saying that he's the only man who could get demoted and become busier, referencing the rumors from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Whatculture). If you're wondering what he got demoted to:
'The Game' [Triple H] was seemingly removed from his duties as head of talent and was now primary concern with expanding NXT's business, finding an overseas TV deal for NXT UK, and the black and gold brand's general operations. He remains a Senior Producer and creative lead for the Wednesday night show.
While we hope this isn't true, it's a possible indicator that the rumors are true. Michael Cole even responded to Triple H, saying "I guess we're shooting tonight". A worked shoot or a real shoot? You decide!
#6. Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan's alliance
This is an alliance that we can get behind. For a couple of weeks, Drew Gulak tried to 'expose' Daniel Bryan and claimed that he had many holes in his game. They had an underrated opening match at Elimination Chamber 2020, where Gulak's technical prowess proved to be on-par with Bryan, with the former Champion being able to counter nearly every move by the veteran.
Bryan acknowledged this backstage and was thoroughly impressed with Drew Gulak, telling him that he had never faced anyone who could go at him counter-for-counter. With that, he asked Gulak to mentor him despite all his years in the game and it cemented a face turn for Gulak.
He accompanied Bryan to the ring against his match with Cesaro, which the former won. The post-match beatdown from Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn saw Gulak interject on behalf of Bryan, seemingly confirming them as a tag team.
We love the alliance and given that Bryan isn't in a big spot heading into WrestleMania this year, pairing with Gulak is largely beneficial to both men.
#5. Jeff Hardy's welcoming-back party and a new approach
As advertised, Jeff Hardy made his long-awaited return to WWE after 11 months away. It's been that long since we've seen him. However, for a superstar who never suffered major in-ring injuries in his previous runs, the last three years since his WWE return has seen all those injuries catch up to him.
Either way, he appeared on WWE Backstage and subsequently, he had his welcoming back party to SmackDown - with King Corbin being the opponent to get him back into the mix. Corbin couldn't even wait for the bell to ring and attacked Hardy beforehand.
Elias was on commentary, as he was backstage to confront Corbin. The two appear to be having a small TV feud going and we anticipate that nothing much will come from it. Either way, it served as a background plot for Hardy's return and he looked better than ever, hitting the Twist of Fate - which Michael Cole seemed to intentionally dub as "the Twist of Fury".
With Matt Hardy gone, this could be WWE's way of rebranding the move for his brother Jeff, and Cole calling it the Twist of 'Fury' didn't seem to be a mistake. He would end up with the win over King Corbin.
#4. Asuka returns to SmackDown to set up a WrestleMania clash?
One-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Asuka returned to SmackDown after many months and interfered in the opening match. That match, of course, was between Sasha Banks and Bayley against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross.
If you recall, Bliss called out The Kabuki Warriors last week for a match at WrestleMania 36. We have to remember that it was Bliss & Cross who The Kabuki Warriors defeated in the first place to capture the titles.
Asuka attacked Bliss, allowing Sasha Banks to hit the Bank Statement on Nikki Cross. It was a weird match, not because of any of the superstars, but the idea of an empty audience just began to sink in. Either way, we give props to the women for putting on the best match that they could and Asuka's attack sets up a WrestleMania title defense.
Our big question is as to who else will be involved. Since tag team title matches can get many women on the card, we imagine that WWE would like to go with a Triple Threat or Fatal-4-Way at WrestleMania 36, involving other tag teams as well.
#3. More than just 'Spear vs Spear'
While we admit that it's going to be tough to have another major show behind closed doors this Monday Night, we do believe that the lack of audience can highlight a superstars' ability in more ways than one.
Roman Reigns had a sit-down interview with Michael Cole to discuss his WrestleMania 36 match against Goldberg and it was one of the best promos that he has cut in a long time. Granted, his promos aren't anywhere as bad as they were in 2015 and everything he said made him come across as a babyface that fans want to get behind.
We hope that they get behind Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36 since he's had a good 12 months where he had a successful babyface run. The match with Goldberg is unsurprisingly being advertised as 'Spear vs Spear', but Roman Reigns made it clear that it was about a lot more than just a marketable catchphrase.
He made it clear that it's about the future and slammed Goldberg's part-time role despite claiming to have respect for him and what he did.
#2. WWE still hoping to go through with WrestleMania 36
Sports leagues have been under tremendous pressure to give answers about what they plan to do with their upcoming events due to the outbreak and threat of Coronavirus. State and Central Governments have been imposing travel bans and restrictions on large public gatherings, which has led the NBA to suspend their league, along with many major soccer leagues in Europe being forced to postpone their seasons for the time being.
UFC has been under scrutiny as well but responded by saying that they plan to shift certain events to their "Apex" Center, while their upcoming event in Brazil will take place behind closed doors.
WWE is in an even trickier situation since WrestleMania 36 is expected to gather over 75,000 people in one stadium. Right now, that poses far too much risk and the ban on travel from Europe means that a large chunk of the traveling fanbase won't be able to attend the show.
The Tampa government delayed any response as to whether they're canceling WrestleMania 36 and from the way WWE is advertising it, they're still hoping for the show to go on.
#1. The ultimate WrestleMania grudge match
Unsurprisingly, John Cena's main event segment was nothing short of incredible. His presence always adds to the show and that was no different this episode. For starters, he used a lot more names than usual.
His promo was about how he cared about the future of WWE and believed that Bray Wyatt is not the future. He named superstars such as Drew McIntyre, Velveteen Dream, Rhea Ripley, Matt Riddle, Tomasso Ciampa as the future of WWE. He labeled Bray Wyatt as the most 'overhyped' superstar in WWE and trashed him for blaming others for his failures.
It was an incredibly well-crafted promo, with Cena putting over Wyatt even by trashing him. Bray Wyatt and not The Fiend appeared in the stands and gave Cena an ovation before confronting him. He stood toe-to-toe with him and thrived - something that not many WWE superstars can do (just ask Roman Reigns).
It ended all too abruptly, but the feud is different from the one six years ago. Cena made it clear that it was about 'ending' Bray Wyatt - something that he believes should have been done all those years ago.
This is the biggest grudge match at WrestleMania 36 and we can't wait.
